New Horizons team publishes first research paper presenting numerous Pluto system findings
Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 16, 2015 -
The New Horizons team described a wide range of findings about the Pluto system in its first research paper, published Thursday. From the variety in Pluto's geological landforms, to Pluto's atmosphere, to its intriguing moons, New Horizons has revealed a degree of diversity and complexity on Pluto and its moons that few expected in the frigid outer reaches of the solar system.
"The New Hor ...
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VLA Reveals Spectacular "Halos" of Spiral Galaxies
Charlottesville VA (SPX) Oct 14, 2015 -
A study of spiral galaxies seen edge-on has revealed that "halos" of cosmic rays and magnetic fields above and below the galaxies' disks are much more common than previously thought.
An international team of astronomers used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to study 35 edge-on spiral galaxies at distances from 11 million to 137 million light-years from Earth. The study took advant ...
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Russian Cosmonauts Taste 160 Meals Ahead of Space Station Expedition
Moscow (Sputnik) Oct 15, 2015 -
Russian cosmonauts have tasted 160 meals for a space menu ahead of a March 2016 expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), the press service of the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center said in a statement Wednesday.
"Oleg Skripochka and Aleksey Ovchinin, crew members of the long-term expedition 47/48 to the ISS, completed tasting the onboard ration at the CTC [Cosm ...
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Comet Encke: A solar windsock observed by NASA's STEREO
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 14, 2015 -
Much like the flapping of a windsock displays the quick changes in wind's speed and direction, called turbulence, comet tails can be used as probes of the solar wind - the constant flowing stream of material that leaves the sun in all directions.
According to new studies of a comet tail observed by NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, the vacuum of interplanetary ...
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Boeing showcases lightest metal ever
Malibu, Calif. (UPI) Oct 15, 2015 -
Microlattice is 99.99 percent air. But it's not air, it's a metal - the "lightest metal ever made," according to aerospace giant Boeing. It's so light, it takes several seconds for a sizable chunk of the metal to fall to the ground, floating like a feather.
The metal, first described in 2011 scientific paper, is the product of HRL Laboratories, a collaboration between engineers at Boei ...
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Mound near lunar south pole formed by unique volcanic process
Providence RI (SPX) Oct 16, 2015 -
A giant mound near the Moon's south pole appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the lunar surface, according to new research by Brown University geologists.
The formation, known as Mafic Mound, stands about 800 meters tall and 75 kilometers across, smack in the middle of a giant impact crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin. This new study suggests that the mound ...
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ILS Proton Launches Turksat 4B
Baikonur, Kazakhstan (SPX) Oct 18, 2015 -
International Launch Services has successfully launched the TURKSAT 4B satellite into orbit on an ILS Proton vehicle. The satellite was built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation for Turksat Satellite Communication, Cable TV and Operation Inc. Co. (Turksat A.S.), one of the world's leading operators in the satellite communication business. This was the 2nd Proton launch for both the satellite oper ...
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